People

Dr. Tim Casey, Director

Professor of Political Science at Colorado Mesa University. BS from Northern Arizona University, MA from the University of San Francisco, PhD from Arizona State University. Emphasis in degrees on political philosophy and environmental resources. Director of the Natural Resource Center of the Redifer Institute at Colorado Mesa University. Responsible for facilitation of public meetings and focus groups regarding public lands since 2006. Has worked on focus groups and public scoping for the Grand Junction and Uncompahgre BLM field offices, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, as well as pre and post designation focus groups with the Dominguez-Escalante NCA and several area specific meetings on public land policy in Western Colorado. Designed and facilitated training for CO-BLM state office working with BLM staff in seven field offices in Colorado to develop BLM's capacity to collect and analyze visitor and community recreation-tourism demand data for monitoring and assessment. Member of the team in 2009 that initiated audience polling (clicker) technology in focus groups and the development of the market-segment analysis resulting from this methodological innovation. In 2013, pioneered web-based digital focus groups for recreational baseline research to address the methodological bias in focus groups toward local participants.

Dr. Justin Gollob

Associate Professor of Political Science at Colorado Mesa University. BS in political science from Idaho State University, MA and PhD in political science from Temple University. Researcher at Colorado Mesa University Redifer Institute since 2008. Has worked on the Grand Junction Field Office RMP and Dominguez-Escalante NCA planning. Prior work has been in the areas of socio-economic analysis, recreation planning, and market segment analysis. Has published research on recreation demand outcomes-focused management and niche bundles. Has conducted several surveys on recreation demand on public lands utilizing his expertise in data collection, management and analysis.

Dr. Tammy Parece

The Instructor of Geography at Colorado Mesa University. BS in Interdisciplinary Studies and Graduate Certificate in GIS from Virginia Commonwealth University, MS in Geography and PhD in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis from Virginia Tech. MS Thesis promoted environmentally relevant behavior, specifically energy and water conservation, in on-campus university residence halls. Dissertation research applied geospatial technologies in optimally siting urban agriculture. Research includes investigation into urban watersheds, urban phenology and spatial justice to assist in siting urban agriculture addressing food insecurity in low-income US inner-city neighborhoods. Extensive experience in geospatial technology education in K-12, university, and professional development settings. Current research includes analyzing Landsat satellite imagery acquired during nighttime flyovers.

Dr. Brian Parry

Associate Professor of Psychology at Colorado Mesa University. BA in psychology from the University of Utah, MA and PhD in applied social psychology from Brigham Young University. Since 2010, he has developed and conducted research with over 4,600 outdoor recreationists hailing from all 50 states on the benefits of public land usage, the relationship between outdoor recreation setting type and benefits desired, and the attributes of public land settings that attract and/or deter usage. Dr. Brian Parry has presented outdoor recreation research findings to audiences at professional conferences in Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Denver, and Grand Junction, published outdoor recreation findings in the international journal Managing Leisure, and is currently developing a manuscript based on the effects of outdoor recreation settings for publication consideration. Directed formal evaluations on the Palisade Child and Migrant Services community center and the Mesa County Department of Corrections. He's also consulted for members of the Grand Junction City Council on assessing the effects of changing the Colorado National Monument to National Park status and conducted numerous studies on cross-cultural comparisons of migrant farm workers, the effects of cultural identification on Native American college students, physical effects of stereotype threat, and leadership analysis of entrepreneurs.

Dr. Nathan Perry

Assistant Professor of Economics at Colorado Mesa University. PhD in economics from the University of Utah, BA in economics and philosophy from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Perry specializes in macroeconomic issues, sustainable development, and the role of institutions and geography in economic development. Dr. Perry served as a Visiting Research Fellow for Global Development and the Environment (GDAE) from 2012 to 2014, where he published work on deficits and debt. He is also the co-author of a book entitled "Lessons in Sustainable Development from Malaysia and Indonesia." Dr. Perry is knowledgeable of IMPLAN, an economic impact modeling software, and has used this software to conduct economic impact reports for Mesa County events. Dr. Perry is also knowledgeable in the field of statistics and econometrics, both of which he teaches, has published in, and has conducted private work.